Hewens College

Hewens College is an inclusive, caring secondary school where pupils and staff are proud to belong, and where leaders have created a notably positive culture in a short period. Behaviour and attendance have improved significantly, pupils feel safe and most are motivated to learn, and the school’s personal development offer—including enrichment, careers education and a wide range of trips and clubs—is a clear strength. The sixth form is judged good, with high expectations and students who achieve well. Safeguarding arrangements are effective. The main area for improvement is the quality of education. The curriculum is well designed and carefully sequenced, but teaching does not consistently deliver it well enough. In some subjects, expectations of pupils’ learning are not high enough, checks on prior knowledge do not reliably identify gaps, and pupils are not always given work that deepens their thinking. Published key stage 4 outcomes remain below national averages in a number of subjects, and weaknesses in literacy, including for pupils who speak English as an additional language, can hinder access to the curriculum. Support for pupils with SEND is identified effectively, but the information used to adapt learning is not always precise enough. The school is part of The Rosedale Hewens Academy Trust, and school and trust leaders are committed to continued improvement. This was a graded inspection following a previous inspection that also found the school required improvement; under current arrangements no overall effectiveness grade was awarded. The report recognises real progress in behaviour, attendance and culture, but identifies inconsistent curriculum delivery and assessment as the key barriers to pupils achieving the intended depth of knowledge across the curriculum.

Strengths

• Pupils and staff are proud to belong to an inclusive school where pupils feel safe.
• Staff build positive relationships with pupils and prioritise raising aspirations and reducing barriers.
• Behaviour and attendance have improved significantly in a short period.
• Lessons are typically calm and purposeful, and most pupils are motivated to learn.
• The curriculum is carefully sequenced and suitably broad, including in the sixth form.
• The school has a strong personal development offer, including a rich PSHE curriculum.
• Pupils benefit from a wide range of extra-curricular activities, clubs and educational visits.
• The careers programme is well developed and helps pupils make informed decisions about next steps.
• Robust systems support attendance, and pupils’ attendance is improving.
• Sixth-form students benefit from high expectations and learning activities that develop depth of knowledge.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• Teaching does not consistently enable pupils to achieve the ambitious aims of the curriculum.
• Expectations of pupils’ learning are not high enough across the curriculum.
• Work given to pupils does not consistently provide secure opportunities to develop deeper thinking and subject-specific skills.
• Checks on pupils’ prior knowledge and understanding are not consistently strong, leaving gaps unaddressed.
• Published key stage 4 outcomes remain below national averages in a number of subjects.
• Information about pupils with SEND is sometimes not as precise as it could be.
• Some pupils’ access to and achievement across the curriculum is hampered by weaknesses in literacy.
• Pupils are not always given the opportunity to extend and deepen their learning.

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Hewens College attended 89.1% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 33.8% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 23.4%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 12.6% of pupils at Hewens College were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 4 pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Hewens College had 13.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 14.5% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 14.1%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 12.4% of pupils at Hewens College were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 1.7% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded secondary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2024–25 Hewens College received £11,202 and spent £12,416 for each of its 412 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £2,251,000 (-£5,463 per pupil).

Across all 7 schools of The Rosedale Hewens Academy Trust, income was £8,802 and spending £8,951 per pupil.

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Hillingdon · Hillingdon local authority: places and applications

Hewens College is part of The Rosedale Hewens Academy Trust, which runs 7 schools. The nearest others:

• Hewens Primary School Hayes
• De Salis Studio College Hayes
• Rosedale Primary School Hayes
• Rosedale College Hayes
• Parkside Studio College Hayes
• Brookside Primary School Hayes

What is Hewens College's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Hewens College is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in June 2025.

When was Hewens College last inspected by Ofsted?

Hewens College was last inspected in June 2025.

How many pupils does Hewens College have?

Hewens College has 410 pupils on roll.

What age range does Hewens College cover?

Hewens College for pupils aged 11 to 19.

What are Hewens College's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 35.9, and 23% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Hewens College?

Hewens College is at Hewens Road, Hayes, Middlesex, UB4 8JP.